Innholdsfortegnelse for September 16, 2015 i Shooting Times & Country

IN A SPIRIT OF OPENNESS Shooting Times has given Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) chairman John Swift a platform to explain his approach to the lead ammunition debate (see p.9). In many ways it is an opportunity denied to former members of the group, who have rightly resisted publishing their own counter-evidence until DEFRA’s peer review of the findings is complete. However, BASC chief executive Richard Ali and Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner have delivered strong rebuttals to John Swift’s position in these pages (see p.10 and p.11). In spite of DEFRA’s decision to delay the publication of the report, a synopsis calling for a ban was deliberately leaked last week through the LAG’s own website. It seems the depleted group is resorting to ever more desperate tactics. It becomes increasingly…

The case of Northumberland keeper Ricky McMorn, who launched legal proceedings against Natural England (NE) after its repeated refusal to grant him a licence to control buzzards, could be resolved by next month, said the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO). Mr McMorn appeared in London’s High Court in June as the judicial review against NE’s decision began. The self-employed keeper suffered four years of damage to his pheasant poults and the loss of his job (News, 3 June) when severe predation caused such a decline in the shoot that it became no longer viable. Natural England repeatedly refused to grant him a licence to control the buzzards, despite its experts accepting that the birds of prey were heavily predating the pheasants poults, and every attempt had been made to dissuade them…

London gunmaker John Rigby & Co. has appointed master French engraver Geoffrey Lignon to work on its rifles. Trained at the famous Leige Gunmaking School in Belgium, Geoffrey (pictured) said it was “fantastic” to work at Rigby. Rigby’s Marc Newton said: “I was introduced to Geoffrey by one of our guys. He showed me a plate with a buffalo on it and I thought ‘this is the best buffalo I have ever seen engraved’. Without hesitation, we offered him a job.”…

“I’ve been asked by BBC Newsnight to bring an axe and a sharp knife into the studio tonight. If you want to know why, you’ll have to tune in.” Rewilding Britain founder George Monbiot teases about his squirrel-eating TV appearance last month. “We appreciate the € 500million for dairy farmers across Europe, particularly as this comes at a time when EU budgets are under tremendous pressure. It is currently unclear how much of this would come to Britain.” National Farmers’ Union president Meurig Raymond welcomes the European Commission’s recent pledge to alleviate pressure in the farming sector.…

Finance firm Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) has announced it will commit up to £9million to install around 200 small wind turbines across the Highlands and Islands. The money, invested through the Environment Capital Fund, will go to Hamsin Wind, a new Glasgow-based company, incorporated in June. The single onshore turbines are being rolled out to farmers and landowners and, at no more than 20m high, are described as “individual, small and unobtrusive”, as well as being able to provide the host site with free or “heavily discounted power” for 20 years or more. The turbines will be located in high wind-speed locations across the Highlands and Islands and the first are expected to be operating in Orkney by the end of the month. Peter Bachmann, director at SEP, said: “We…

News that a letter from the chairman of what should now be referred to as “LAG-lite” to the DEFRA secretary of state has been published on that size-diminished group’s website should perhaps come as no surprise. Because the group has ignored the confidentiality requirements of the Terms of Reference set by previous Labour DEFRA ministers, the concerns over failures in process expressed by those who resigned en masse look even more justified. The contents of the letter are, however, unsurprising, though it is astonishing that the author will apparently carry on using lead himself. Isn’t that just a tad hypocritical? The language used in the letter is clearly partial and designed to direct government towards one conclusion. However, events have already moved on and the words “busted flush” spring to…

Beware what you post on social media IN ASSOCIATION I recently received my shotgun certificate after renewal, together with a letter from Lancashire Constabulary informing me that, over the past year, there had been a significant increase in the number of thefts of legally held firearms in the Lancashire area. Some thefts, according to the Constabulary, could have been avoided through simple measures such as keeping sight of a vehicle containing the firearms. It is suspected that offenders have been targeting organised shooting events, watching for shooters storing their firearms in vehicles then breaking into them in the owner’s absence. It also stated that one area of concern was the posting of photographs by certificate holders on social media sites. I recall Alasdair Mitchell warning shooters in his column (Sharpshooter,…

There is something very English about shooting partridges over stubbles in September, or over the rolling Cotswold hills. Once, the majority of driven shooting in England was partridges, not the French variety but our own beautiful English version. Sadly, agriculture in the 1980s had a huge effect on the stronghold of the English partridge, but there are committed landowners and farmers doing their utmost to see this amazing British bird flourish again on their land. Traditional driven partridges were presented over tall, thick hedgerows and belts of trees, with excited Guns waiting the other side. However, you are now more likely to see partridges added as an extra to a shoot day. Many small farm shoots and syndicates will always put down a few partridges to add to the variety…

Is it just me who has mixed feelings about the start of the wildfowling season? On the one hand I look forward to it as much as the next man, religiously taking up place pre-dawn to usher in another opening. It’s a tradition after all, and long may it remain so. But, then again… Hacking and bashing through midge-infested head-high rushes and grasses to get to the waterside in pitch darkness isn’t really my idea of fun any longer, especially if there are water-filled ditches and barbed wire fences to contend with along the way. Sitting in a muck sweat, being stung by nettles and mozzies isn’t exactly heaven. So, unless you can reach your destination by boat, don’t be conned by keener-than-you mates into making the trek. When all…

Commercial premises are required to store large game such as deer at a temperature below 7°C, and small game below 4°C (the reason for the difference is that small game is usually left with the body contents intact, whereas a deer is gralloched before going to larder). Sadly, if you come back with a summer roebuck or some early-season partridge or pheasant it can be difficult to find a suitably cool place at home when outside temperatures are high. Sheds, garages or outbuildings can become hot, so you may want to consider obtaining some form of chiller unit.…

There is no keeper born who has not had a day or two go wrong, but it takes wild game to put the seal on that day. Dealing with wild game is rather like salmon fishing: there is no guarantee, no certainty you will get anything, and the game pleases itself as to what it does and when it does it. It is not standing there waiting for the bucket with the food in it to arrive; indeed, the opposite is the case — any sight of a man with a bucket and it’s off. That is, of course, if something else has not beaten the man to it. We had such a day the other week, when we headed for one of our better areas, in what is not…

There are five resident species of owl in Britain and Ireland. They are the barn owl, little owl, tawny owl, long-eared owl and short-eared owl. It’s known that owls are nocturnal, but did you know that little owls and short-eared owls actually hunt during the day? The barn owl will do likewise during the breeding season, when hungry chicks demand to be fed. Owls are carnivorous, have highly developed senses of sight and smell, as well as super-sharp eyesight, which allows them to see in the dark. Their feathers are also specially adapted to enable them to fly slowly and silently, so that they can sneak up on their prey, which largely consists of small mammals, such as mice, shrews and voles. They also eat spiders, worms, fish, reptiles and…

Though many people seem unaware of it, there is an excellent Picking-up Code of Practice that can be viewed on the BASC website (www.basc.org. uk), or downloaded as a PDF. Wide-ranging and comprehensive, it covers all the issues and topics that are pertinent to anyone working their dog or dogs for picking-up. It starts with the law, and a reminder that dogs have to wear collars when in public places, except when being used for sporting purposes. One point of law you should be aware of is that trespass is committed if a dog is sent to retrieve a bird from beyond a boundary without the permission of the neighbouring landowner. On most shoots this isn’t a problem, as the majority of landowners are happy to co-operate with each other. However,…

Late last month, the Angling Trust, Fish Legal and the World Wildlife Fund joined forces and were given permission by the High Court to challenge the Environment Agency and DEFRA over their failure to afford some of England’s most precious rivers, lakes and coastal areas enough protection from pollution. It’s a tactic that the group implemented with some success in 2010 when it launched a similar action to force greater implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD), a piece of legislation that came into force in 2000 and is considered to be one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation ever passed in Europe. It required every protected river in the UK to be classified as in “good” condition by 2015, a situation that has not come…

Despite the persistent days and nights of rain in August, here in the storm-battered West Country, where there has been only fleeting spells of sunshine, our pheasants poults, all 350 of them (we are a very modest DIY shoot) are thriving. This is our fourth rearing season and, as the media constantly informs us, “lessons have been learned”. The learning curve has been steep, and a trifle bumpy at times, but has left our little syndicate of five in remarkably sound shape. Acting, as I do, as underkeeper, I and my headkeeper both feel that we have graduated. We can now at least claim to have a reasonable understanding of the trials and tribulations associated with running a shoot, albeit on a miniature scale. On a positive note, our release…

This summer was generally wet and cool, despite the Met Office’s long-range prediction that it would be warmer and drier than average. The grouse had already suffered from adverse weather in the spring. So what can we expect from autumn? Only one thing is certain: there is no point asking the Met Office. I remain hopeful. I have a bias towards autumn, in all its moods. It is my favourite time of year. Yes, there are days and weeks in other seasons that can be fantastic. A snowy January evening; a lazy day in early June when the trout are rising; one of those bright spring days when it becomes evident, for the first time that year, that the winter really is over. But autumn, as an entire season, is…

Steve Brightwell was the undoubted winner of the 2015 British Open English Sporting and Sportrap Championships at Garlands Shooting Ground in Staffordshire on the weekend of 5-6 September. Steve (pictured centre) won the Sporting trophy with a total score of 89 out of 100 after shooting 68 out of 75 in the final and 21 out of 25 in the super final. He was also runner up in the Sportrap and veteran High Gun in both competitions. Martin Myers won Sportrap High Gun with 96 out of 100.…

Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner has called into question the BBC’s contradictory stance in regard to recent inflammatory comments made by Springwatch presenter Chris Packham. Last week, Mr Bonner called for the BBC to sack Mr Packham due to his continued “blatant political propaganda” after writing a column for BBC Wildlife Magazine in which he criticises everyone from gameshooters to the RSPB and the National Trust. Around the same time, a BBC spokesman told The Times that: “If Chris Packham wishes to express his personal views outside of his employment on BBC natural history programmes, he is entitled to do so.” Writing on Twitter in response to the BBC comment, Mr Bonner highlighted the BBC editorial guidelines that state: “It is not normally appropriate for [BBC staff] to present…

Delays to the superfast broadband roll-out in Devon and Somerset could be “fatal” to local businesses, councillors were told this month. Graham Long, spokesman for campaigners Broadband for Rural Devon and Somerset told Devon County Council that farmers, home workers, cottage industries and tourist accommodation are all reliant on fast broadband and it “could be fatal to rural businesses” if the regions get left behind. He added: “2Mbps may have been an acceptable speed in 2010 but it needs to be 20Mbps in 2015 and in 2020 businesses will need 200Mbps and so on.”…

GOOD TIMES Hertfordshire gunmakers Carl Russell & Co celebrated its first year anniversary this month with the unveiling of a full-size British Navy cannon. The annual Yorkshire Challenge Cup clay shoot, held at the Rosedale and Westerdale estate this month, raised close to £12,500 for the Great North Air Ambulance and the NGO. BAD TIMES A protected mute swan was found dead on the river Irwell in Greater Manchester earlier this month, having been shot with an air rifle. It is an offence to steal, harm or kill any wild swan. Thousands of fish have died at Skitwath and Dacre Becks in Cumbria after slurry got into the water earlier this month. The source of the pollution has been identified and stopped.…

Of all the criticism levelled at the shooting organisations involved in the Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) perhaps the most bizarre is the chairman’s assertion that we are not acting in our members’ best interests — especially as he worked for one of them for more than 30 years. We know that lead is toxic. We even know that incidences of violent crime in the US are heavily linked with the level of lead in the environment, hence one of the reasons for banning lead in both paint and petrol. Since those bans, blood lead levels in the US have dropped. In contrast, what we don’t know, and what there is no reliable evidence to show, is that eating game shot with lead ammunition actually has any significant effect on the…

1 Focus and concentration during the drive is important. If you don’t stay alert, you will get caught out. Don’t worry about who’s shooting what; focus on your peg and your zone. So many Guns get caught ball-watching only for a covey to come over the line — this can cause bad bird selection, panic, bad timing, a rushed shot and a miss. 2 When a covey starts taking on the line of Guns, look through it, not at the whole covey. If you focus on a point in the covey, you will naturally be drawn to your first bird. Once you have selected your bird, do not change your mind, unless the shot suddenly becomes unsafe. If safe to do so, shoot the first bird as early as you…

Feeding on barley stubble for two or three weeks in late september builds up mallards’ bulk in next to no time. They carry fewer difficult pen feathers then as well. Best of all, they make for absolutely delicious eating. Stubbles such as this are now sadly few and far between, as those precious golden acres get ploughed in soon after harvest. Thankfully, things are a little different in much of Scotland, where many stubbles are left untouched until the following spring and where it’s still possible to bag a few birds before they — and migratory geese — clean up the last of the spilt grain. All’s not lost farther south as harvested bean fields can be a huge magnet to duck. The same is true of isolated oak trees…

Training Staying to heel My four-year-old Labrador will not stay close at heel. She is steady as a rock when working on the shoot, and stays at my side when the guns are firing. We only go to shoots about six times a season, and this is when it is frustrating. I have followed many of your tips but heelwork has defeated me. What can I do? W. Cuthberton, by email PAUL RAWLINGS SAYS: A gundog has a powerful sense of smell and it is that which very often breaks its concentration when at heel. Nagging will just make matters worse and the dog will switch off to the irritating noises coming from its handler. I am not suggesting that you have allowed her more freedom when out on normal…

PAUL RAWLINGS SAYS: The Kennel Club regulations are very clear on this point. The following regulation appears at the beginning of the rule book and covers all breeds that retrieve: “Game that has been handled in any way, either dead or alive, must not be used for testing dogs in any part of a field trial, except that dead game may be used in the conduct of a water test.” Even game that another dog has already had in its mouth would be classed as “handled”; therefore if a runner escaped from one dog’s grip, another dog would not be tried but the bird would be left for the picking-up dog to find. Only freshly shot, unhandled game must be retrieved by the competing dogs.…

Scottish Natural Heritage has relaunched the Heading for the Scottish Hills web service, which allows walkers to go online and check in advance for any deerstalking taking place. The aim is to help reduce the chance of stags or stalkers being disturbed during the peak season up to 20 October. The website — www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/hftsh — provides general information about stalking on estates as well as details about responsible behaviour for walkers and land managers.…

Taste of Game and the Moorland Association have teamed up to publish Glorious Grouse, a new guide on where to buy the king of gamebirds. Anyone struggling to fill their freezer with grouse will find the guide (pictured) useful. It includes a list of outlets both online and offline and a few recipes to try. Amanda Anderson, director of the Moorland Association, said: “Delicious wild red grouse is the pinnacle of British fresh, seasonal produce with the provenance of every bird traceable back to the glorious moors.”…

Controversial Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) chairman John Swift has hit out at critics, saying that shooters need to “smell the coffee” over problems with lead ammunition, and that shooting organisations must face the issues, “not just spin bad science and empty words”. He denied that conservation organisations such as the RSPB were using the lead issue to attack shooting. “I have no doubt that there will be one or two lunatics on the extreme fringes who will progressively see this as a way of attacking shooting if the shooting organisations don’t take it seriously,” he said. “They’re giving them an open shot at goal.” Mr Swift shrugged off personal criticism, saying: “it goes with the territory”, and added: “The idea that I’m actually working against shooting is absolutely laughable.” He…

WRITE TO: Shooting Times, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU The RSPCA: little better than a grave robber? I’m sorry to say it came as no surprise to me that the RSPCA has been trading its donors’ personal information ( News , 9 September). What used to be a great charity has lost its way in recent times — with the invidious attempted prosecutions of hunts and hunting people (for the most part, they weren’t successful), the vastly inflated “fat cat” payments for its executives and the draconian seizures of pets. Now it is effectively grave robbing, trying to work out how much it will receive when people die. Apart from the fact that this is no better than ambulance chasing, if the RSPCA is passing on…

In the past, lunch was taken in Glemham Hall itself, but for the early part of the season at least, Mark is lunching the Guns outdoors. So, in a small marquee local chef Roger Aston (pictured) of Field, Fur and Feather Catering had laid out a magnificent spread of chicken paella, home-made terrine and chicken liver parfait with a delicious selection of continental meats. “I used to help Mark out on his old shoot,” Roger told me. “When he said he was coming down to Suffolk and wanted me to do his lunches, I thought, ‘Let’s put them out in a field’. There’s no reason we can’t turn out food in a field the same as we can in a restaurant.”…

We never know how many migrant birds will return each autumn, but I am anticipating a shortage of golden plovers in the west of the UK, because this has been a strange spring and summer in Iceland. The national picture will be complicated by the fact that our winter flocks are made up of birds from as far away as Greenland and Russia, as well as local ones that breed in the hills of all four countries of the UK. Perhaps our birds will have had a better summer than their Icelandic cousins? I hope so because there is something magical about the sound and sight of a golden plover in the uplands. The vialli-vialli song of the male as he displays in the spring and the plaintive squeak of…

TONY BUCKWELL is a retired veterinary surgeon, who now acts as an advisor on animal welfare, breeding and husbandry. If you are concerned about your dog’s health, always seek veterinary advice. Harvest mites Each autumn my dog licks and bites his feet. What’s the likely cause? L. Harper, by email TONY BUCKWELL SAYS: These are signs that are associated with harvest mites, Trombicula autumnalis . The adult mites are non-parasitic, but their larvae are problematic, especially in areas of chalky soils and on grasslands, cornfields, heathland and scrubby woodland, particularly in southern England. Examine the skin in the interdigital spaces between the footpads where you should be able to see these tiny mites that are red, orange or yellow. You can kill the mites with proprietary veterinary insecticidal sprays but…